A CARE home has been told it can move out of special measures after inspectors noted that improvements had been made.

The Old Vicarage Nursing and Residential Care Centre in Burtonwood was rated ‘inadequate’ by the Care Quality Commission in September last year.

During that visit, representatives of the health watchdog stated residents were ‘at risk of receiving inadequate care’ and criticised shortfalls in managing Covid infection prevention measures.

But after revisiting the Fir Tree Lane home in March, inspectors were satisfied that they could revise their rating to ‘requiring improvement’, although further action is needed.

In a recently published report, the CQC said: “Following our last inspection, the provider implemented changes to the running of the service that resulted in a number of identified improvements to the standard of care people received.

“However, further improvements are still needed to address issues found during this inspection.

“The environment was now noticeably clean and hygienic, however some equipment used by people for mobility and some chairs in communal areas were found to be unclean.

“In addition, cleaning schedules lacked information regarding some cleaning tasks; such as communal areas and high-touch services.

“Staff were provided with the appropriate PPE and had received training and guidance around its use, however we observed some staff were not following correct guidance in the use of masks.

“The provider was aware this was an ongoing issue and had previously followed their disciplinary processes to address it, however this process did not appear robust enough.”

Inspectors went on to say that systems to review and improve overall quality were now more effective at identifying issues, but that further improvements were needed to ensure staff took the necessary action required.

Changes to the management structure within the service had been ‘instrumental’ in the improvements found during this inspection.

“Staff spoke positively about the managers and were confident continued improvements would be made,” the report continues.

“Family members told us they had seen many improvements to the standard of care their relative received.

“Risks to people's health and well-being were appropriately assessed and detailed plans were in place to manage these and keep people safe from harm.

“People told us they felt safe and family members were confident their relatives were well-looked after.”

The commission noted that there were enough staff to meet people's needs and keep them safe, while staff received training in infection prevention and control.

The service was said to support family members in regularly visiting relatives safely, with processes in place to prevent visitors from catching and spreading infections.

Inspectors added: “At this inspection, we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

“This service has been in special measures since September 2021, but during this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made.

“The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions, therefore this service is no longer in special measures.

“We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good.”

Harbour Healthcare, which runs the home, was approached for comment regarding this latest inspection report.